My yorkies skin issues
 

This issue started 5 or 6 months ago as a few bumps on her lower back looking like pimples. They didn't bother her but multiplied in a couple of days from 2 bumps to maybe 50 so we went to the vet. he diagnosed it as some allergy and gave her a steroid pill and antibiotic. didn't help anything. if anything made it worse so we went back. he changed her diet and again no results. after about 5 trips we picked a new vet. all he was doing was giving her more steroids and saying good luck. So now we have the new vet and he believes she had a bacterial infection on the back of her neck. She does have an issue on the back of the neck that produces puss and crusts over. He says that the infection causes the bumps/hair loss on her back. The thing is that she had the pimples 3 or 4 months before the bacterial infection showed up. The pimples/medicine began irritating her and she began licking. now she has a lot of very discolored skin and has lost a lot of hair. The amoxicilin the new vet gave her has seemed to cure the back of her neck but she is still ITCHY and scratching a lot. at one point her entire back felt like one huge scab. it felt disgusting to touch her but this has also gone away with the new vet....
Here are the pictures tell me if you have seen anything like it.
notice the dark/black color to her skin. all the skin that has had bumps turned this color, and the rest of her skin is still pink.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f5...sickdog002.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f5...sickdog001.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f5...sickdog003.jpg
and here she is with her boyfriend
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f5...sickdog004.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f5...eeboy132/7.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f5...boy132/3-1.jpg

What a cute furbaby and I hope someone on YT can help you with this. There are many people with much knowledge here.

I really am no expert at all, but it looks a little bit like what my Piccolo had, which is vasculitis. But she was never, never itchy. So, I doubt it. Anyway, just in case, I will post a picture of what her back looked like.

Hope someone knows more about this.

I just wanted to add one more thing about vasculitis, just in case you think it might be relevant. (It is called Ischemic Dermatopathy, Cutaneous Vascutitis.) Anyway, Piccolo did get a secondary infection from this (which was itchy) and the vet told me this was common. It took a Vet Dermatologist to diagnosis with a skin biopsy and it was caused by vaccines.

Hope someone with lots of knowledge will help you soon....

have they tried malaseb or sebazole baths? i would ask it will help stop some itchyness was a skin scaroe done and looked at under microscope? i hope it gets better

Please click one of the Quick Reply icons in the posts above to activate Quick Reply.

There could be a lot of reasons like Mange or flee dermatitis... did the Vet take a skin sample ( scratch a little bit stuff off?)

We had a lot of probelms with flee dermatitis. Maggie was itching like crazy even though she was on frontline plus. Since she gets the comfortis pill once a month all is just fine.

Mitzi had skin problems all her life and mostly it was food allergies (corn, wheat, chicken, beef...)

I think it looks the same as what the dog above in #2 post had. Am I the only one?!

Dave, you and I are living the same nightmare!
 

You're experience sounds just like mine and I am SO frustrated! About 5 months ago, started w/ a little bump on my yorkies back, I was a bit concerned so we went to the vet. There was NO itch at all at this time. She also gave us antibiotics and steriods and we finished them up and then he started itching and scratching and licking mildly (if that's possible)(mind you the bump we started w/ is gone and now looks like a dark patch of skin). As of today, we've been to the vet 6 or 7 times (I lost count). She's done 2 scrape tests and says they are negative, we had an additional steroid shot (reluctantly) over the long weekend because he was itching like crazy and the children's benedryl wasn't doing much... my vet is convinced its allergies?? Based on what she told me today, a dermatologist who can conduct bloodtests etc is all thats left if the NEW antibiotics and Zyrtec (we switched brands) don't work. I am besides myself, so I feel your pain....poor little pups, its driving me nuts to watch my guy suffer...I also don't like watching him get knocked out on antihistamines everyday! I'm so lost and sad! :( This is my first YT post, disappointed it couldn't be better news. Let us know how things turn out on your end....I'm going to look into the alergic reaction to a vaccine angle tomorrow. I "think" he may have gotten one right before all this madness started...anyone w/ additional insight for us?

Thanks so much for this post. you're picture looks exactly like what my dog looked like before it got worse.. for the first 3 months there was no itching AT ALL nor has it affected her activity level except when on allergy meds. It wasn't until she got this infection on her neck that she went to licking and licking and licking. three days ago we got home and she had a square inch of hair off her front shoulder from scratching and it was bleeding. :(.. anyway... What did you do to heal your little puppy up? and did it lose hair and if so did the hair grow back? like i said at one time 3/4 of her back was one huge scab so i am not expecting to see much regrowth of hair. but i can only hope for the best. It is frusterating not only because we love her but we paid very good money for her with plans to breed... it's hard to sell a pup when the momma don't have hair on her back ya know? and i could never ever fib to someone about something like that. We are also anxious to get her better because we plan on getting another female as soon as she isn't costing me 25-50 a week at the vet.
thanks for all the help. I've been reading this forum since 5 months ago when she got sick and now i wish i would have joined a long time ago. sorry i get long winded.

OH! And we moved to our new town in may got her last puppy shots in late june and the bumps started in early July. The bumps first presented themselves on her hind quarter that i showed you and that is the same spot she got her shot.


here is another cute pic.

vasculitis it is..
this has to be the solution.
Vasculitis
that link explains it all. she even has bumps in her ear called ear vasculitis. it says its very rare in dogs but jack russels poodles and yorkies are most likely to get it and where they were vaccinated.

The picture is so cute. :) Here is a link to a thread I wrote, in July, about Piccolo having vasculitis. The dog dermatologist told me other diseases can mimic vasculitis, such as mange and tick diseases. Piccolo was tested for all of these things, before she was given a diagnosis and put on medicine. You asked about the medicine....She takes Pentoxiffiline and was given high doses of Prednisone for awhile, because the Pentoxiffiline was not kicking in by itself. Bless you and please keep us updated.

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ind-gross.html

It sounds like she has a staph skin infection which is caused by allergies. I battled that with Lady about six months ago with constant antibiotics until I found the "magic" potion ....... benzol peroxide which is Clearasil. I use the vanishing formula. :D

I also give Lady baths in Chlorhexaderm, an anti-bacterial shampoo. Her skin is completely clear now with no antibiotics.

Skin Discharge or Odor in Dogs

Here is a before and after picture. You can see some of the pimples that have crusted over in the first picture.

I am sorry your furbaby is having so many problems. It sounds like you are thinking about going to a Vet Dermatologist. This kind of doc was really helpful with Piccolo. I wish I had made the appointment earlier in her illness. This vet did both skin scraps and biopsys. Good luck and please let us know updates. Thanks!

Your poor baby. Wow, what pictures. I wonder if the OP's furbaby could have both illnesses? Piccolo did get a secondary staph infection from the vasculitis. It took some pretty powerful medicines to get rid of it.

I found a great vitamine for my dog who was diagnosed with Sabatious Antenatus. I have some very shocking pictures of my dog before , during and today after the vitamins. We are very pleased with the result and the boost in him Immune system. It doesn't hurt to try it on your dog along with what ever your vet wants to try. If it can do this for my poodle it may work wonders on your yorkie. I also have recommended this to many of my clients at the shows and have seen great results. There is a money back guarantee if it doesn't work for you so you have nothing to loose.

NuVet Labs Online Store offering NuVet Plus and NuJoint

Attachment 248947 Attachment 248948 Attachment 248949

Look how his hair is growing back and all the sores on his skin have healed. He now has hair on his tail again. This is a condition of the Immune system but I have seen it help with allergies at the shop. After what I have seen I am telling every one, I hope it will help with your baby too.

good and bad news from the vet
 

i just typed a big long paragraph only to have my internet mess up and delete it.
moral of the story was she has red mange. i saw it with my own eyes moving around. i still think she has vasculitis because of the sores in her ears but the vet said first things first clear up the mange. im sad because we paid 1100 for a quality dog to breed with and now we have to have her spayed. they did say they had a dog in this year that looked just like our kate but had lost ALL of its hair from the mange but after curing it all grew back in so that was some good news. oh well i guess now i have a new excuse to buy us another female yorkie :D I will keep everyone updated in 2 weeks when i have to go back.

so good: news my baby is on the road to recovery

bad news: $1100 dog we can't breed

She does have a staff infection as a secondary issue from taking so long to figure out the mange we got medicine for that. she also has just gotten healed up from a seperate bacterial infection we used amoxicilin for that. The back of her neck looked terrible from that.

So we have healed a bacterial infection and we are currently working on
1) red mange
2) staph infection
3) ear infection

I'm so glad you have a diagnosis for your furbaby and she is on the road to recovery. :)

The pictures of your poodle's recovery are amazing! Pardon my lack of medical knowledge, but what is Sabatious Antenatus? It sounds like it is some kind of auto-immune disease. Thanks for letting me know. :)

It is a horrific disorder that strikes Standard poodles, and a few other breeds almost 50% are carriers . There are test for it but they only tell you if they have it when the test is taken, It can show up at any time from a year to 8 years. They get sores and their hair falls out, I believe from the lack of oil produced in the glands, then the smell comes and staff infections etc until most have to be put to sleep. But we decided to fight it and so far we are wining and I am very happy about it. He also gets a bath with Sulfur oxidex every three days. But we have hair again!!!!
We really saw a turn around when we started the vitamins.

maybe the same? really need help please!
 

hello everyone. i found this site while desperately searching for some answers to my little fella's problem. he has bumps all over his back and some dark spots on his belly. it started with a few small bumps on his back towards his tail and they turned into scabs so i took him to the vet. he thought it was allergies so he gave him a couple of shots and sent him home (after checking him for fleas). they seemed to go away after a coupld of weeks and then came back worse!! i took him back to the vet and he got more shots, changed his food, gave me medicated shampoo, and gave him antibiodics. they went away for a month or so and now, THEY'RE BACK AGAIN! he itches so bad!! i've been giving him 1/4 children's benadryl since he was about 1yr old when he gets allergies and it's not helping at all anymore. the spots seem to start out like little pimples or ant bites and then they turn into sores and scabs on his back. the spots on his belly start out like pimples also but they turn into grayish larger spots when they start to heal. he doesn't have sores on his ears or head... just his back and tummy. i'm soooo concerned and know if i take him back to the vet again it's just going to be the same ole allergy spill :(

can anyone please help my harley divot? he's so miserable-my heart breaks for him

brandi

as someone who just learned a lesson the hard way... don't let the vet keep guessing @ what is wrong with your puppy. insist on skin samples or take it to a dermataligist. it may be more expensive but will save you in the long run in two ways... 1st and most important your puppy will start getting better rather than worse and worse 2) i was up to like 400 dollars in misdiagnosis treatments and the correct diagnosis and treatment only cost $111. good luck and keep us updated

if my dog had been properly diagnosed we would have been on the road to recovery 4 months ago rather than going back to the vet every single week since then.

Hi Brandi! I am so sorry your furbaby is having so many problems. I think the best way to get help with the skin problems on YT, is to post a new thread about this. If you can post pictures, that helps, too. I wish I had some knowledge about what you are describing. I bet some people on here will be able to help.

Also, I do agree with the post above about going to the Vet Dermatologist. I really did not get the right kind of help with her skin issues, until Piccolo went to this kind of specialist. My regular vet tried everything for two months, and nothing worked. I want to wish you the best and hope you get answers quickly.

Thank you so much for the information. Glad you have hair again. That is exciting, isn't it? One more question.... Is this an auto-immune disease?

well, I got a hold of my breeder (the woman taught me in 6th grade and the man in 7th and we played ball with their kids) and they called some people who had puppies from the same litter as our kate and they are all trouble free. So i know kates problem isn't from a genetically weak immune system. about 2 weeks after we very first got kate she was maybe 10 weeks old and she got beat up by our other yorkie and almost died. she had a sugar low and was very stiff also got a bacterial infection at the same time. I knew then that we would probably end up having some problems with her. He did offer to help on my vet bills even though i made it very clear it wasn't anything that was his fault. of course i declined but i had mentioned i would be buying another female from him in the future and he told me he would give it to me @ half price. pretty honorable if you ask me. He told me they have been breeding yorkies for 10 years and only had to replace 1 puppy. they have over 30 females... so that is a lot of puppies each year.


anyway update on kate.. since the dip she is itching like crazy and pulled out more hair than ever :-( the vet said she would be itchier than ever so i guess she's on track

Poor little baby... maybe you could ask the vet if she could have a cortisone shot to help her with the itching. It can't be good if she scratches, it could cause secondary infections...

We all pray that she gets better really really soon!

Bubba has some of these symptoms. He has the pimples on his belly and the brown spots ( dirty looking tummy). Have been reading up on Emu Oil as a supliment. Thinking of giving it a try. It sounds like some awsome stuff.

3 more days into it..
 

She has stopped all itching :D. the first few days she was going at it like crazy. the vet said she would. Now she seems to be itch free. she doesn't scratch any more than our other dog so i feel like that is a good sign.



Gizmo's mom: first i would recommend a vet. we started with a few pimples and thought they would go away and now we have a dog missing 1/2 its hair. Also i believe that the brown dirty looking spots are irritation to flea bites.
second... growing up my dog's name was Gizmo and it was a yorkie! We loved that dog and he is the reason i have been okay with my wife buying a couple of these little guys. (i think i like them more than she does)

I'm so glad that your girl has found some relief:thumbup:. Bless her heart.

Update from Vet.
 

We took her to the vet today for the vet to look at her and dip her again. vet said her skin looked a lot better. It was a lot less red from infection. We couldn't tell but we see her everyday. It was the first thing she noticed. She has also had a whiteish flaky stuff on her as a form of yeast infection and when we finally got to bather her after 2 weeks 99% of it washed off which is great cause that is the stinky stuff. ALSO she said "well lookie there she is growing in new hair that is a good sign." I got to looking and she is growing quite a bit of tiny little hairs in her bald area.

It feels so good to be on the right track after 4 months of others leading us down the wrong track. It's good to see those little hairs coming in. :D